This Means War
by dyeyell
Summary: Betty Ross comes into town and disturbs a possible relationship between Darcy Lewis and Bruce Banner.
1. Betty Freaking Ross

**AN: I own nothing here, except the ability to combine moviecanon, comicbookcanon and my own headcanon in order to perform the miracle of fan fiction. Yeah yeah, I'm full of it, but read on.**

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Betty Fucking Ross.

That was all Darcy could think of as she watched the two of them hug.

No, not true. While choking down the need to scream, Darcy was also thinking of the way Bruce had been smiling at her just moments before Betty entered the lab.

As Agent Coulson's second-in-command when it came to the Avengers, Darcy had read all the files associated with each member of the team. She knew about Clint's early life in the circus, Natasha's messed up childhood at the hands of the Soviet government, Tony's father issues, what Steve actually looked like before the serum, the stuff that went down between Thor and Loki during the Chitauri invasion, and Bruce... well, she knew all about Betty Fucking Ross.

The first thing Darcy knew about Betty, she was the 'great love' of Bruce's life. The second thing, Betty's father was a psycho general from the Air Force who had a permanent grudge against Bruce (it was a damn Shakespeare play waiting to happen). Three and probably the worst news for Darcy, Betty's last husband, Colonel Glenn Talbot, had been confirmed dead in Japan two years before Bruce joined the Avengers (apparently he had been trying to track Bruce down at the time).

As she watched Betty take hold of Bruce's hand, and tried not to vomit in her mouth, she could feel Jane sidle up to her and put an arm around her shoulder. "I've got a bottle of tequila, two pints of Ben&Jerry's, and every season of Doctor Who back at the tower."

"Jane, you're the best friend a girl could have," Darcy mumbled, as Jane led her out of the lab.

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"What the hell am I supposed to do? She looks like a damn elf princess! She's closer to Bruce's age, and we both know that's like a whole _thing_ with him. She's a freaking genius who gets everything Bruce is talking about without having to have it explained, and she'll be working with him all the time!"

Darcy took another shot and threw herself back onto Jane's couch. Jane eyed her warily, having listened and agreed and put down Betty Ross for an hour with her increasingly drunk friend. Thor good naturedly sat in a corner reading about the Midgardian history he had missed since the last time he really stayed on Earth for an extended time.

Jane sighed and squared her shoulders. It was time for her to do the time honored tradition of cajoling your friends into picking themselves up.

"Darcy!" Jane shouted. Darcy startled and looked up at Jane with wide eyes. She had rarely ever heard Jane use her big girl voice. "You are better than this. You are Darcy Samantha Lewis and you do _not_ give up! So what if Betty was his so-called 'great love' and they have a tragic history, he finally just asked you on a date after you both pined after each other for a whole _year_!" Jane had gotten up and started pacing back and forth. She even air-quoted 'great love' and Jane did _not_ do air-quotes. "So what if she's some hot shot researcher in gamma radiation, you are Agent Coulson's right hand woman and we all know he's a damn ninja! So what if she looks like an elf, who the hell wants to look like an _elf_ anyway! You are younger and have a way better body, so you better rock that shit! And I don't ever want to hear you badmouth yourself again, because you're _my_ best friend and I'm a fucking genius and I don't pick just anyone to be best friends with!"

Darcy sat perfectly still, or as still as one can be after drinking six shots of tequila, which meant she was slightly rocking side to side in her effort to follow Jane's pacing. She watched Jane come down off the high of her impassioned speech and somewhere in the drunk haze of her mind, under her new found fear of Jane, Darcy became determined to not let Betty Fucking Ross blow into town and ruin the friendship and easy flirtation and possible romantic relationship she and Bruce had built up over the past year.

It was on.


	2. Puttin' on the Armor

Waking up early for work combined with a massive hangover did nothing to rid Darcy of the anxiety she felt when she noticed that her phone lacked the usual morning text message from Bruce. The one that wished her good morning and wondered if she wanted to cook breakfast with him.

It was Tuesday. Her date with Bruce was supposed to be on Friday night.

Darcy felt a little sick to her stomach and wasn't entirely sure that it could all be blamed on the copious amounts of alcohol she had consumed the previous night.

She stumbled out of bed and threw on her bathrobe. As Darcy walked out of her room, she could hear sounds of laughter coming from the communal kitchen. She recognized Bruce's laugh and stopped short of the entrance. Darcy could feel her heartrate speed up and her stomach clench.

"Jarvis?" she whispered.

"Yes, Miss Lewis," Jarvis whispered back. Darcy and the AI had a special bond, and she appreciated that bond in that moment as Jarvis spoke quietly to her.

"I'm assuming Bruce is in the kitchen. Can you give me a heads up about what he's doing?"

"Of course, Miss Lewis," the AI continued to whisper. "Dr. Banner is currently making pancakes with Dr. Ross."

Darcy felt like throwing up, or possibly crying, but she slowly turned away and forced herself to walk back to her room despite the sudden pain she felt in her stomach.

As Darcy closed her door, she slid down against it until she was sitting on the floor attempting to slowly breathe in and out.

"Should I alert Dr. Foster?" Jarvis asked her at a normal decibel, though there was a hint of worry.

"No, I'm good. I just need a moment," Darcy paused to take a deep breath. "You're the best Jarvis."

"As are you Miss Lewis."

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After taking a much needed shower, Darcy stood in front of her closet contemplating her wardrobe choices in light of the new revelation that she had competition for Bruce's affections.

"Not that I'm much competition for Dr. Perfect," Darcy muttered. But then she mentally kicked herself for that train of thought. Despite Jane's seriously scary persona last night and the knowledge that Bruce and Betty were having breakfast together, Darcy knew that the astrophysicist was right. She may not rock a lab coat, but she owned a damn uniform, and that form fitting catsuit looked amazing on her.

Of course, Darcy hadn't worn the damn thing since her first day, when she had whined all afternoon to Coulson about the insanity of trying to use the bathroom by having to basically get naked, and he had caved in order to avoid another tension headache on top of the one he had gotten from Tony Stark that morning.

And despite knowing the impracticality of it, not to mention the very dim chance that Bruce would see them, Darcy whipped out the big guns and wore a set of matching green lacy underwear under her catsuit. She zipped up her black boots, and tied her hair in a high ponytail. After adding deep red lipstick that matched her nail polish, Darcy felt ready for battle.

She marched out of her room and went back to the communal kitchen. She felt both disappointed and relieved that Bruce and Betty were nowhere to be seen. Darcy felt a knot twist in her stomach though as she walked to the fridge. For the past six months, she and Bruce had been cooking breakfast together every morning that he was at the tower and not off being the Hulk or sleeping in from being the Hulk.

She didn't feel particularly hungry, but went to grab herself a banana. As she was opening the fridge door, she heard a choking sound that sounded suspiciously like Tony. She turned around slowly to find Tony and Clint who had both just entered the kitchen.

"So, I'm just going to make a leap here and say you either decided to channel Natasha this morning, or you've already met a certain Dr. Betty Ross," Tony smirked, his eyes roving over her body. The catsuit certainly showed off her generous curves.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Darcy intoned with a passivity that rivalled her boss. Let it not be said that Darcy Lewis had learned nothing from Phil Coulson.

But seeing as how Coulson's boyfriend was a SHIELD agent, was one of her best friends, and was standing right next to Tony, she doubted that Clint was fooled. And despite much evidence to the contrary sometimes, Tony _was_ a genius, so he probably wasn't fooled either.

"Darce, you don't have to dress in a catsuit to get Bruce to notice you." Clint's tone was compassionate though he a had a slight twinkle in his eyes.

Tony turned to Clint with a look of mock horror on his face. "Are you blind? She most certainly _has_ to wear that in order to get Bruce to notice her. In fact, she may need to wear less." Tony turned back to Darcy with a wide grin. "I wholeheartedly approve your use of the SHIELD uniform to win Dr. Banner's enlarged green heart."

Darcy rolled her eyes as she poured herself a cup of coffee. "Seriously Tony, it's like you don't even know that I have Pepper on speed dial." She took a sip of coffee as she watched Tony pour himself some cereal.

"Hey, no fair using Pepper. You have to learn to fight your on battles kiddo." Tony tried to look affronted, while Clint snorted.

"You're right Tony," Darcy responded casually. "Next time I should just use my SHIELD issued tazer."

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Despite technically working for SHIELD, as a liaison for the Avengers Darcy spent most of her time in the tower.

Being a liaison and buddies with Thor and Jane, meant Darcy had been offered a room in Tony's towering homage to himself. Of course, Darcy suspected Tony's offer had more to do with his bff Coulson's refusal to being the only sane person living there.

So, living in the tower and working there meant Darcy spent a lot of time around the Avengers. She may have known a lot about them from reading their files, but it was the months Darcy spent watching movies with them, eating meals together or playing games, that had made her a good friend with everyone on the team.

Her relationship with the team served her well on her way to her office as she was met with Natasha. The assassin gave her the once over and grinned. It was a testimony to the level of their friendship that Darcy received one of Natasha's rare smiles. And Darcy basked in the glow of Natasha's approval.

"Tony texted me that you were attempting to, and I quote, 'take a page from the Black Widow and kick Betty Ross' ass'." Natasha raised a brow at Darcy as her face settled into one of slight amusement.

Darcy internally rolled eyes at Tony, because one did not outwardly roll eyes at Natasha, no matter how good of friends you are. She continued walking toward her office with Natasha in step beside her. "Tony's an idiot. I'm not planning on kicking anyone's ass... except probably Tony's."

"Then I assume you are wearing your uniform, despite your dislike of its confining nature, in order to make a play for our dear doctor." Natasha followed Darcy into her office.

Darcy sighed and sank into the chair behind her desk. At this rate, it seemed everyone besides Bruce would know what she was up to, and she hoped to Odin that Bruce wouldn't figure it out, but she knew better than to lie to Natasha. "So maybe I'm being a little immature. I just wanted to be a bit more competition for Betty Fucking Ross, then essentially being a babysitter for the Avengers... exempting you and Steve of course."

Natasha sighed and sat on the edge of the desk next to her chair. "Darcy, you are worth so much more than Betty. You and I both know their troubled history, and that can't compete with your total acceptance of him." Natasha leaned forward and dared Darcy to look away. "The Hulk may tolerate her and she him, but you and the Hulk adore each other, and that will go a long way with Bruce. He may _never_ be able to rid himself of the Hulk, and he needs someone to accept that and love all of him, not just tolerate it and continually hope for a cure." Natasha gracefully stood and walked to the door and turned. "You may have lost a battle this morning." Natasha stared pointedly at Darcy and the younger woman knew without a doubt that Natasha knew about Bruce and Betty's breakfast moment. "But you will win this war."

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Darcy stared at the monitor screen on her desk. She needed Bruce to sign some papers and it was almost lunch time. She usually had lunch with Bruce and Jane and sometimes Tony, in order to get the scientists to consume real food. Thor would usually tag along if he wasn't busy learning about Midgard or sparring with Steve. So as much as she wanted to just have lunch alone with Bruce and possibly confirm their status, she knew Betty would probably want to be there and Darcy would definitely need her posse with her for that awkward lunch.

So as she made her way to the labs, she texted Tony and Thor to meet up with her and Bruce and Jane for lunch. File in hand, Darcy stopped outside the lab doors and took a breath, then she pushed open the doors and walked in. Spotting Jane in her corner of the lab she waved, but Jane seemed to go pale at the sight of her and her eyes flicked over to Bruce's corner of the lab. Darcy turned and felt her heart jump into her throat.

Betty had her hands twined with Bruce's.

And they were kissing.


	3. Rallying the Troops

The kissed seemed to go on forever, though in reality it ended almost as soon as Darcy turned toward them. She vaguely noticed that Bruce didn't move away first, and that he didn't look too unhappy about the kiss.

Ceding to Tony's ridiculous accusation that she was channeling Natasha, Darcy squared her shoulders and let the uniform instill in her a sense of purpose.

"Ahem."

Bruce looked to the door and blanched at the sight of Darcy standing in the lab. He quickly looked back at Betty who only smiled serenely at him, then looked back at Darcy.

Darcy strode forward with as much deliberate authority as she could muster and stopped a few feet from the couple, whose hands were still entwined. "Dr. Banner, I need your signature on these documents." She held the file out to Bruce, who seemed to realize he was still holding hands with Betty as he began to untangle himself from her.

"Darcy, I-"

"I'm sorry sir," she cut him off, and he looked pain at the formal address. "I'm really in a hurry, but I can come back to pick these up at the end of the work day." Darcy set the folder on the lab table next to Bruce. "Dr. Ross," she acknowledged with a brief glance at Betty. And before Bruce could reply, Darcy quickly turned away and walked toward an open-mouthed Jane. "Come on Jane, we don't want to be late for lunch."

As Darcy pulled Jane with her out the lab doors, she could hear Betty ask, "are you okay Bruce?"

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Darcy and Jane sat at the table in the small Thai restaurant waiting for Thor and Tony. It was their usual Tuesday lunch spot.

Jane tried to comfort Darcy, but the blank look on her face made Jane unsure of what to say. She had never seen anyone look so unemotional before, and she knew the Black Widow.

She breathed out a sigh of relief when Tony and Thor showed.

Tony threw himself into the chair next to Darcy. "Hey Agent Jr. what's up?"

"Jane, my dearest," Thor boomed in the tiny restaurant (the owners were used to him). "And lady Darcy, how goes the morning?"

Tony quirked an eyebrow at Darcy's comatose form. Thor was too engaged with Jane to notice, but before Tony could ask what was wrong, Darcy abruptly stood up and walked quickly to the back of the restaurant.

Jane, Thor and Tony all looked at each other, wondering what to make of the situation, when they noticed Bruce walking up to the table. Thor and Tony both greeted Bruce, but Jane refused to even look at him.

Bruce looked intently at her. "Jane, can you please ask Darcy to-"

"No!" Jane almost shouted. The half-filled restaurant suddenly became deathly quiet and Tony and Thor both turned to stare at Jane in shock. People didn't usually yell at Bruce Banner, not when they knew he could turn into the Hulk, and certainly not Jane Foster. "I will not do whatever it is you want me to do. Not after this morning! I will go and check up on my _best_ friend, and if she wants to talk to you, then that is entirely up to her." Jane quickly made her way through the restaurant.

Tony watched Jane's retreating form before turning back to Bruce. "What the hell did you _do_?"

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Darcy had felt herself go numb as she Jane walked to the restaurant. Jane didn't seem to know what to say, which was fine by Darcy, because she needed time to think. She wasn't sure if she was ready yet to give up on Bruce, but seeing him kissing Betty hadn't helped matters. A large part of Darcy was simply frustrated that she herself had yet to kiss him, let alone have anywhere close to the amount of history Betty had with him. It just all seemed so unfair.

Bruce was finally over the age thing. Darcy had had several one-on-one moments with the Hulk wherein he called Darcy by her name and petted her hair. And being good friends with Clint and Natasha meant that Darcy had learned how to fight and shoot, which served to make Bruce less nervous about her safety.

As she contemplated her situation, Darcy barely noticed Thor and Tony arrive. But as if there were some kind of magical connection between the two, Darcy felt Bruce's presence, and she saw him through a window approaching the restaurant. Of course, she thought, Tuesdays were for Thai, because Bruce loved Thai food.

Not yet ready to confront him, Darcy got up from the table and quickly made her way to the bathroom. She briefly considered climbing out the window, but dismissed that idea as being too cowardly.

Darcy gripped the edges of the bathroom sink with both hands and stared hard at herself in the mirror. She couldn't keep running away from Bruce, not if she wanted to be in his life. And though Darcy wasn't sure if he still wanted to be with her romantically, the thought of not even being his friend hurt badly. That thought in and of itself made her decision for her, so that just as Jane was walking into the bathroom, Darcy was heading back out.

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As Darcy walked back from the bathroom, she saw the guys, and apparently every other patron inside the restaurant, turn to watch her. "Banner, with me!" Darcy snapped. A severely startled Bruce jumped slightly at her approach. "The rest of you, eat without us." This she directed to Thor and Tony and half the restaurant.

Darcy continued on out the restaurant with Bruce following at her heels. They were only one block away from the tower and Darcy marched determinedly toward it. Bruce attempted several times to get Darcy to stop and talk, but she simply held up a hand and motioned for him to follow.

As they made their way inside the building and across the lobby floor, security guards gave Darcy large grins and Bruce wary smiles. Darcy made her way to the private elevators at the back of the lobby meant for the residential floors at the top of what was once Stark tower.

She slid her card through a scanner in the elevator and pressed the button for her floor. They rode up in complete silence. And though Darcy could feel Bruce's eyes on her, she resolutely face the front.

When they got to her room, Darcy held the door open for Bruce and he worriedly glanced at her before going inside.

"Darcy, I-"

"Bruce, please." With her eyes downcast, Darcy slowly walked up to him until they were only a few inches apart. She took a deep breath and looked up into his eyes. "Did you sleep with her?"

He looked startled at her question. "No, I didn't. Darcy, I am so sorry for what happened. I wasn't expecting her to show up here and I-"

Darcy cut him off with a kiss.

At first, Bruce was too surprised by the sudden turn of events to kiss back, but as Darcy wound her hands around his neck and into his hair, Bruce began to press his lips into the kiss. At the sudden encouragement, Darcy let the tip of her tongue slip out and lightly flick across his lips. Bruce responded enthusiastically, pushing his tongue out and against hers, while his hands found her hips and began to rub slowly up and down her body.

They continued to kiss and Bruce began moving her backward until Darcy felt herself lightly hit her mattress. As she slowly sank down, Bruce leaned over her, his hands moving to either side of her on the bed. Darcy broke off the kiss and Bruce groaned, but she simply gave him a wicked smile and began to scoot back until her head was lying on a pillow. Bruce grinned at her and followed on hands and knees, slowly making his way up her body until he was hovering over her.

As Bruce's lips found hers again, he slowly lowered his body until his weight was settled on his forearms, their chests pressed together. He began nipping and nuzzling at her lips then moved slowly to her cheek and down her neck. Darcy began to blindly unbutton his shirt and she could feel Bruce smile into a sensitive spot behind her ear. He rested his weight on one arm while his free hand moved to the collar of her uniform.

"Do you know," he breathed in between kisses back to her mouth, "how sexy you look in this?" Darcy smiled and continued to unbutton his shirt as Bruce opened the collar on her catsuit and pulled down the conveniently located zipper. He pulled back from kissing Darcy to watch his progress and practically growled at the sight of her large breasts barely encased in green see-through lace.

"Do you know how sexy I find your chest hair?" Darcy grinned and Bruce threw his head back in a laugh that quickly turned into a groan of pleasure as she dragged her nails down his exposed chest.

Darcy utilized the skills she learned from Natasha to flip Bruce onto his back, and straddled him. His eyes went dark with lust and he looked ready to devour her as she leaned back on her hands above his knees giving him free access to her breasts.

"Miss Lewis?" Jarvis interrupted, and Bruce's hands froze mere inches from her chest.

"Yes Jarvis?" Darcy replied tightly while trying to maintain her calm at the intrusion.

"I hate to interrupt, but Dr. Ross is looking for Dr. Banner and was informed that he was with you, and she is now making her way to your room."


	4. The Meeting

Darcy felt like she had had a bucket of ice water thrown over her. One minute she felt indignant and purposeful and wanting to tell Bruce the deal, the next she was kissing him and forgetting why she was upset and just wanting more... and then Betty Ross comes along. Again.

Fuck.

Still leaning back on Bruce, she could feel the muscles in his legs tense up under her hands. Her head was thrown back, so she could see the swirling pattern in the ceiling above her. Darcy closed her eyes and silently counted to five then sat up. She looked down at Bruce and the look of guilt on his face tore her up inside.

He remained quiet as she quickly scrambled off of him and began putting herself back together. He moved off the bed, quietly buttoned his shirt back up and avoided looking at her. The fact that he wouldn't even look at her was confirmation enough for Darcy that she needed to get as far away from the whole situation as she could before she started crying. She may be willing to try subtle (or not so subtle) seduction, but she was not about to manipulate him, or any man for that matter, with tears.

"So... that got a little out of hand." Darcy attempted to sound casual about the whole thing, even as she could feel the prickle of tears at the corners of her eyes. She mentally cursed herself for being weak, and turned away from Bruce.

Bruce cleared his throat. "Darcy, I do like you." She couldn't see him, but she imagined he still looked guilty.

"Yeah, right. Obviously." That may have sounded more bitter than she meant.

Bruce sighed and she could feel him put his hands on her shoulders. Darcy felt the sudden urge to wrench out of his grasp, but when he pushed slightly on her to turn her, she moved willingly. Staring resolutely at the buttons on his shirt, she watched his hand out of the corner of her eye move to her cheek. Darcy forced herself not to lean into his touch as he tilted her head back to look at him.

"Darcy, I like you. And _not_ just for the uniform." He smiled at that and she couldn't help but smile back at him. "You're smart and funny and beautiful. You make me feel good about myself. The only thing I regret about what just happened is the timing."

"Yeah, probably not a good idea to give into a year of sexual tension right after seeing you _kiss_ your ex-girlfriend." Darcy felt like a bitch at that moment, but the thought that she'd allowed herself to get carried away with Bruce less than an hour after seeing him kiss someone else, made her feel cheap. And the fact that she'd worn something she couldn't even use the bathroom in without getting almost completely undressed, just for a man, made her feel like she'd set feminism back fifty years.

Darcy was glad to note that the new look of guilt on Bruce's face seemed to stem from his behavior with Betty this time. And before he could respond to her statement, a knock sounded at her door.

"Yeah hey, it's probably better if we talk about this later." Darcy glanced at her door. "You should go see what Betty wants. It might be important." Bruce seemed like he was about to argue, but another knock cut him off and Darcy moved quickly away from him and went to answer the door.

Betty stood before Darcy in all her elfish glory. Dark shiny hair in waves down her back. Large blue eyes full of warmth. Full pink lips turned up in a smile at the sight of Bruce standing somewhere behind Darcy.

Darcy hated her.

"Oh hey!" Betty directed her smile at Darcy. "We haven't been properly introduced. I'm Betty Ross. I'll be working in the labs here." Betty held out her hand.

Darcy channeled the sorority girls she hated so much in college, and smiled widely. "Yeah, nice to formally meet you." She took Betty's hand in a firm handshake. "Darcy Lewis. I'm a liaison for SHIELD and the Avengers. You must be looking for Dr. Banner."

"Oh yes. He sort of stammered something about paperwork and ran out of the lab with an experiment still running." She looked past Darcy to Bruce and smirked. "I was looking for him, so we could avoid an explosion in the lab, and one of the security guards in the lobby said he was with you."

"Oh... the experiment... paperwork..." Bruce mumbled, and Darcy rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure you know Bruce well enough to know how he can be with words sometimes." Darcy smiled sincerely this time at Bruce's fumbling.

"Of course," Betty laughed. "Unless it's science related, Bruce tends to lose his ability to form coherent sentences sometimes." Her laughter was as warm as her eyes and Darcy couldn't help but laugh along with her.

Damn Betty Ross and her effervescent personality.

"Well Bruce and I are done here." Darcy turned to Bruce and lifted an eyebrow meaningfully at him. "And I should really be getting back to work."

Bruce seemed to snap out of his stupor and moved to the door. As he brushed past Darcy, he looked down at her, but she had turned back to Betty.

"Well again, it was nice to meet you." Darcy held out her hand this time and Betty shook it.

"Yes it was so nice to meet you too. We should go out to eat sometime and really get to know each other. I haven't really met a whole lot of people yet, and it would be nice if we could be friends. Especially since it seems like you'll be in the labs a lot."

"Of course, that would be great. I'll set up a dinner this weekend." Darcy wanted to kick herself, but the pull of Betty's niceness was too strong. _Might as well go for broke_, she figured. "You can also meet Natasha. I'm sure you've met Pepper since she secured your lab space, and of course you've met Jane. We'll make it a welcome dinner and a girl's night out."

"That sounds great!" Betty looked genuinely excited. "I'll make sure to leave my weekend open."

"Yeah, great," Bruce chimed in, his smile seemed forced and Darcy relished in what was sure to be his internal freak out.

"I'll let you know which night." Darcy moved back slowly into her room, physically ending the conversation.

"Sure thing," Betty replied back, and turned with Bruce to walk back to the elevators that would take them to the lab.

Bruce threw a slightly worried glance over his shoulder as he followed after Betty, but Darcy was already closing her door.

For the second time that day, Darcy slid down her closed door till she was sitting on the floor.

"Betty fucking Ross."


	5. The Talk

"What the hell is wrong with me?" Darcy moaned, before doing a shot. She had agreed to go get drinks with Jane after work to discuss what had happened. She only managed to get through the rest of her workday by immersing herself in the mountain of paperwork on her desk. "I made out with Bruce instead of having a real discussion about where I stand with him. And then I agreed to have dinner with the woman who could very well be the future Mrs. Banner."

"Yeah, and you dragged the rest of us into the mix as well." Jane was sitting at the bar nursing a beer. "I love you Darcy, but why do we all have to witness the awkwardness."

Darcy put her head down on her arms. "Cliiint,"she moaned. "What is _wrong_ with me?"

Clint sat on the other side of Darcy at the bar. He patted Darcy on the shoulder. "Well kid, I told you you didn't have to wear the catsuit."

"Why didn't you stop me?" She whined. "Why weren't you being all perceptive like always and telling me how crazy I am?"

Clint chuckled into his beer. "Darce, when the hell did I become your keeper?"

She lifted her head and grinned. "When you saved me from the boredom in New Mexico by taking me under your wing, and convinced Phil I had the right amount of snark to deal with Tony."

"Hey!" Jane groused. "New Mexico was _not_ boring."

Darcy turned to Jane in solemnity. "Of course not Jane. I was saying that for Clint's benefit." She turned back to Clint and mouthed, '_yes it was_.'

Clint snorted. "Darcy, you'll be fine. It's one dinner, you won't be alone with her and you don't have to end up best friends. Not to mention, it wouldn't kill you to be the better person here."

Darcy signaled the bartender for another shot of whiskey. "It _will_ kill me Clint. Betty Ross is _that_ damn nice. She will fucking kill me with kindness. I'm pretty sure her kindness is worse than bullets."

"Yeah, that's what I was worried about on all those missions," Clint muttered into his beer. "I was worried about the kindness."

Darcy downed her shot and swung around on the barstool to face him. "My _god_ Clint, have you never been to high school? _Mean_ girls?"

"No," he deadpanned. "My life is not a Tina Fey movie. I spent my childhood in the circus making a living and trying not to fall off the high wire and die."

"Yeah yeah, sad childhood, scary clowns." Darcy waved a dismissive hand. "If you _had_ been to high school... and had also been a teenage girl at the time, you would know that girls, and subsequently women, are tricky tricky creatures. We can be deceptive, manipulative, and certainly not unwilling to play the part of the nice girl in order to trick you into believing we're harmless before we _snap_ our jaws and kill you."

Clint lifted an eyebrow at Jane. "She had like four shots before you got here." She explained with a shrug.

Clint shook his head. "Darce, I seriously doubt Bruce would've ever been interested in someone like that. He certainly likes _you_, and despite the catsuit and the kissing session, I wouldn't put you in the same category as jawsnapping, deceptive or manipulative."

Darcy put her head back on her arms and moaned. "Oh you're right. Who am I kidding? She is so beautiful and _so_ nice, even _I_ want to be with her." She popped her head up with wide eyes and the look of someone who's had six shots of whiskey. "Maybe I should try to seduce _Betty_."

Jane choked on her beer and Clint rolled his eyes and laughed. "Okay little miss drunkie, it's obviously time to get you home and into bed before you come up with anymore alcohol fueled ideas." Clint helped Darcy off of her barstool.

"But I _need_ more alcohol to drown out the crazy that is my life." Darcy attempted to walk on her own, but swayed dangerously until Clint wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "What about the making out? What am I going to do about _Bruce_?" Darcy leaned on Clint, and Jane held her purse as they made their way out of the bar.

"Talk to him, Darce... _just_ talk," Clint chuckled.

Darcy turned her head and glared at him. "Jane, call Natasha so she can smack Clint for me."

xxXXxxXXxxXXxx

After getting carried home by Clint, she had checked her phone, having put it on silent to avoid talking to Bruce, and noticed two missed calls and a text message from him. _"Sorry about earlier today. I really do want to talk to you. Breakfast tomorrow?"_

She had responded with a _"sure"_ and quickly passed out.

xxxx

For the second morning in a row, Darcy woke up with a hangover. After taking a quick shower, she surveyed her wardrobe options. She was not about to don the uniform again, but she didn't want to look like her usual schleppy self. Darcy tended to wear jeans and bulky sweaters around the tower, and only wore her professional clothing if she was spending her day at SHIELD. She opted for skinny jeans and a fitted green top.

While she was getting dressed, her phone pinged and she saw it was another text from Bruce. _"Still up for breakfast?"_

_"Yeah. I'll be there in a few minutes."_ Darcy suppressed the urge to run away and made her way to the communal kitchen.

It was still pretty early, but everyone tended to already be awake, except for Tony. Coulson, Natasha, Clint and Steve would be working out. Thor was probably doing things with and to Jane that Darcy did _not_ want to think about. Pepper, being Pepper, was usually already at her office at Stark Industries. So, Bruce and Darcy had the kitchen to themselves before anyone else wandered in.

Bruce was at the counter chopping onions. He looked up when Darcy entered the kitchen and gave a shy smile. She smiled back before heading to the coffeemaker.

"So what are we making this morning?" Darcy asked, as she poured herself a cup of coffee. She slid onto a stool at the counter as Bruce began chopping a bell pepper.

"I was thinking we could have some omelettes, fresh fruit and toast."

"Sounds good. Want me to start cutting some fruit?" She took a sip of coffee and let her gaze wander around the kitchen.

"No, it's okay. I was up early and I cut some up already." He continued to cut the bell pepper into smaller and smaller pieces.

She raised a brow at him, but Bruce studiously avoided looking at her. She got up from her seat and went to the fridge. When she opened it, she wasn't exactly surprised to see five large containers of cut fruit inside. She closed the fridge door and slowly came up to Bruce like he was a wild animal she was trying to tame. He was still intently chopping the bell pepper into tiny pieces when she gently laid a hand over his to stop him.

"Bruce?" She managed to finally get him to look at her, and the sadness on his face made a knot form in her stomach. "We should probably talk before you start chopping all the rest of the vegetables in the fridge."

He gave a weak laugh that didn't reach his eyes. "Yeah, I got a little carried away with the fruit." He set the knife down, wiped his hands on a towel and went to sit down at the counter.

Darcy sat next to him and forced herself to remain calm. _'Whatever happens,'_ she thought. _'It was good while it lasted.'_

He ran a hand through his hair and Darcy was reminded of one of the times she had taken care of Bruce after a Hulk transformation. It had been a long battle with Dr. Doom and his robotic creations. Bruce had had to stay in his Hulk form for a long time, while constantly battling a set of self-multiplying robots. He had come back to the tower with dark circles under his eyes but unable to sleep. Bruce was so tired that he didn't even put up an argument when Darcy forced him to lay down with her. She had held him and steadily ran her hand through his naturally fluffy hair until he fell asleep. It was a momentous occasion, because Bruce didn't usually trust himself around other people and avoided touching anyone unless it was medically necessary.

It was also the first time in her friendship with Bruce that she realized her feelings for him may have been something more.

Darcy waited patiently while Bruce gathered the courage to talk. He lifted his head and looked her in the eyes. "I care about you alot. I really do. We've known each other for a little over a year now and in that time... your friendship has meant _so_ much to me. You've really been here for me and accepted me even with the... issues I have. I can't express enough how much that means to me."

He picked up both of her hands and cradled them in his own. When she didn't pull away, he took that as a sign to go on. "I didn't know Betty was coming to work here until the other day. I hadn't seen her in five years, but I knew she got married." Bruce took a deep breath. "When she came to see me in the lab the other day, I... didn't know what to think. She told me about her husband's death, and about missing me in her life... She's staying in the tower until she finds an apartment in the city, so when I went to the kitchen yesterday morning and saw her there... we just started talking again, and... it felt like old times. And then in the lab... I don't know... she took my hands and... sort of just kissed me."

Darcy had pulled her hands away when he got to the part about the lab. She looked down at her knees touching his. They had turned into each other while he was talking. "Do you still love her?"

Bruce sighed. "I guess a part of me will always love her. She was a big part of my life, and one of the reasons why I ran was to keep her safe."

"Do you want to get back with her?" Darcy dared to look at Bruce when she asked him this. "I mean... I've had exes I loved. I get it."

Bruce gave her a weary smile. "And I hate everyone of those exes." It was his turn to look down. "Honestly Darcy... I don't know _what_ I want right now. I know it's unfair to put you through this. I'm so sorry."

Darcy took one of his hands in hers, and shook it until he looked back up at her. "Hey, I understand, I really do. And it's not like we're actually together. We were having our first date on Friday."

"_Were_ having?" Bruce looked upset at that.

"Well yeah, I didn't think you'd want to keep our date after Betty... and the whole thing with me and you yesterday." Darcy furrowed her brows at the sad look on his face.

Bruce shifted on his stool and frowned. "I'm not sure what exactly is going on with me just yet, but I still want to go out with you. I was looking forward to the date before... I'm not going to break off a date with you."

"Bruce," Darcy sighed. "As much as I would love to go out with you... it wouldn't be fair to me... or to Betty, for the two of us to go on any dates. Not until we have this all sorted out." At the sad resigned looked on his face, Darcy felt her stomach unknot and she smiled tenderly at him. "But we can always go out as friends."

Bruce gave her a small smile. "I'd really like that."


	6. Avoiding the Fallout

After finishing breakfast together, Darcy and Bruce headed off to their respective jobs. Darcy made her way to Coulson's office for their mid-week meeting, then took all the paperwork he handed off, back to her office. She spent the rest of the morning poring over expense reports from the last mission and requests for new specialized arrows. As Darcy was busy filing it all away, she received a new text from Bruce. _"I really want to have lunch with you all today, but I need to talk to Betty about all of this. Can you have Jane meet you instead of picking her up?"_

Darcy's eyes widened while reading his text, and she felt a nervous flutter in her stomach. She hadn't really given a whole lot of thought to the fact that Betty had no idea what was going on, or the fact that she would eventually become aware that Darcy and Bruce were headed toward a relationship before she came along.

She couldn't imagine how Betty would react to the situation. Darcy knew that if she were in Betty's place, she wouldn't have expected Bruce to stay pining after her forever. And she certainly wouldn't be surprised if Bruce was into someone else when she came back into his life. Of course, knowing Dr. Bruce Banner as well as Darcy did and how amazing he truly was, she wouldn't be surprised either if Betty refused to take a possible relationship between her and Bruce lying down.

Darcy sighed and responded to his text, letting him know it was okay and that she would miss his presence at lunch. She then sent off another text to Jane telling her about the change in plans.

xxXXxxXXxxXXxx

Wednesdays were for either wasabi or waffles depending on the weather, and as it was raining Jane and Darcy headed to get sushi. Tony was barracaded in his workshop and Thor was sparring with Steve, so it was just the two of them during lunch.

"So what's going on with you and Bruce?" Jane asked, spreading a thin amount of wasabi onto her rolled sushi.

Darcy played with her chopped sticks before dipping a slice of ginger into soy sauce and spreading the sauce onto a roll. "We're sorting it all out. We talked about where we stood this morning, and Bruce is trying to figure out what he wants before he and I move forward." She shoved the sushi roll into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully while Jane waited patiently for her to finish. When Darcy swallowed, she concentrated on spreading wasabi on another roll. "Bruce still sort of _loves_ her Jane, and now she's back in his life and willing to give it the old college try. He only just _likes_ me. How can I compete with that?"

Jane sipped on her tea then carefully set it down. "Darcy," she sighed, and the other woman looked up from her attentive use of the spicy condiment. "I don't know how Bruce really feels about Betty, but I've seen the way he looks at you, and you're not someone he only _just_ likes."

Darcy looked down at the large mound of wasabi she had spread on her sushi and began scraping it off. "Okay fine, I'm awesome and Bruce knows it." She finished taking off the wasabi and scowled at the mess she had made of her sushi. "I'm seriously tired of talking about this. My life resembles a soap opera and I'd rather watch an _actual_ soap opera than to keep thinking about my tragic love life." Jane nodded her assent and began preparing another roll with wasabi. Darcy looked up slyly at her friend. "Hey, I've been a _terrible_ bff; only talking about myself these past couple of days. What's going on with you and the thunder from up yonder?"

Jane lifted a brow. "_Really_?"

Darcy buffed her nails on her shirt. "Yeah, I even amaze myself sometimes." She leaned back in her chair and grinned. "But seriously Jane, how _are_ you and Thor? Is he giving you enough of that sweet sweet lovin'?" Jane rolled her eyes and stuffed the sushi roll into her mouth. She gestured to her full cheeks and shook her head. Darcy lifted a brow, but continued to grin. "I have _all_ day Jane."

xxXXxxXXxxXXxx

Darcy groaned at the pile of paperwork on her desk when she got back to her office. '_How much paperwork does SHIELD plan on forcing me to fill out?_' She wondered. Darcy was pretty sure the secret organization was just making up stuff after a certain point. She considered that was probably the case when she was confronted with form BW-I/K-28. A BW-I/K was literally a form that Darcy had to fill out after the Black Widow incapacitated or killed someone, in this case she incapacitated a male civilian who wouldn't take no for an answer. There were fifty different BW-I/K forms... all for Natasha. '_Seriously, where the hell is Steve when this crap happens?_'

Darcy continued to work on the form when she got a text from Jane. "_do_ not _come 2 lab. u may want 2 avoid commons... just stay n ur office._" While Darcy was puzzling out what the hell was going on with Jane and how long it would take for the calvary (Coulson) to show up, she got another message from her. "_u seriously want 2 avoid betty bruce drama. escaped 2 another lab. i'll fill u n later._"

Darcy sat back and tilted her head until it was resting on the chair seatback. She stared at the ceiling and rolled her eyes at the thought of her tangled love life. "Aww, to be young and carefree," she mockingly declared, before turning back to the BW-I/K-28.

xxXXxxXXxxXXxx

Darcy was _not_ a glutton for punishment, though one would doubt that by her choice of hiding out. But she figured training with Natasha was better than running into Betty and Bruce. And though a part of her really wanted to know what was said between the two, she figured spending several hours fearing for her life at the hands of the deadly spy was a better use of her time.

After the first few months of one-on-one sessions with Natasha, the woman had stopped pulling her punches and really forced Darcy to work for it. Darcy was pretty sure she would never beat Natasha in a fair fight, but she could probably take down half the agents in Hydra after training with the Black Widow for the last eight months.

Darcy swept a leg out to trip Natasha, and the other woman fell back onto her hands and into a handstand. As she quickly twisted herself to bring her legs around Darcy's head, the younger woman threw her arms up around her ears to block Natasha from breaking her neck with her thighs (of steel). As the pair fell over, Darcy managed to angle an arm so that she could thrust three straightened fingers at a pressure point on the back of Natasha's leg (thank you Coulson). At the same time, Natasha used the momentum of the fall to flip Darcy over and bring herself upright. While the hit at the pressure point would have briefly disabled a normal person, Natasha seemed to shake off the strike, and kneeled into Darcy's back.

"Uncle," Darcy's muffled voice came up from the mat.

Natasha relaxed the pressure and stood, and Darcy was able to stand up after a few seconds of heavy breathing into the floor. The spy nodded her approval at Darcy's improved skills, and moved to towel herself off. Darcy grinned, taking the nod as a ringing endorsement of her own badassness and pumped her fist in the air. "Awesome!"

As the two women began to stretch out their muscles and cool down from the session, Natasha took in the furrowed brow on her friend. "You can't avoid them forever," she remarked as she brought her head down to her knees.

"Yeah, well, a girl can hope." Darcy rotated her shoulders. "I'm just not sure what to expect. The last thing I wanted to do was cause Bruce any pain, and this has the possibility of being super painful for him. And of course, no matter what happens here, someone loses."

"I still think you're underestimating your importance to Bruce. As for pain, Bruce will get through it." Natasha smirked and looked slyly at Darcy. "Would you like me to take Betty out of the equation?"

Darcy grinned back at her. "That's sweet, but I hate filling out the paperwork."

xxXXxxXXxxXXxx

Darcy breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Tony (and no Bruce or Betty) in the kitchen. It was almost ten o'clock at night and apparently Tony had finally come up for air from his workshop. She plopped herself on a stool next to him and put her head down on her arms. "Mm tired."

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that Agent Jr. Are you tired?" Tony smirked into his coffee.

"Shut up Tony, you don't know tired," Darcy mumbled into her arms.

"Yeah kid, cause I don't fight bad guys on a regular basis, sometimes on little to no sleep."

Darcy lifted her head and glared at a smirking Tony. "Hey, you fight in a metal suit and _choose_ to do science instead of sleeping. I just spent the last four hours having my ass handed to me by Natasha."

Tony raised his hands up in defeat. "Okay, you win short stuff." He leaned an elbow on the counter and looked Darcy over. "So, why were you punishing yourself?"

She dropped her head back on her arms, hiding a grimace. "Avoiding drama and hoping Natasha would put me out of my misery."

She heard Tony shift on his stool, then felt him awkwardly pat her on the back. "There, there. It'll be okay, and I'm always here if you need to talk it out." Darcy lifted her head and raised an eyebrow at him. "_What_? You're like the daughter I'm glad I never had." She lifted her other eyebrow and Tony grinned. "Minus the sexual innuendos."

Darcy laughed and hopped off her stool. "Yeah okay, I'm good now. Thanks for that... _dad_." She shuddered. "Nope, too creepy." She waved Tony goodbye and headed off to sleep.

Darcy was brought up short by someone sitting in front of her room. She slowly walked up and realized it was Bruce. He had his back to her door with his arms wrapped around his raised knees and his head down. He didn't seem to notice her approach until she was standing right in front of him. When he raised his head, Darcy saw the weariness.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep," he mumbled as he slowly got up from the floor.

Darcy quietly studied his tired looking eyes and hunched shoulders before finally motioning for him to follow her into her room. "Lay down. I'll get changed."

He didn't argue, and Darcy grabbed a t-shirt and sweats and went to the bathroom. When she got out, Bruce was lying on his side facing the window. She crawled up to lay next to him and pulled at his shoulder until he turned over. He wrapped an arm around her waist and Darcy began running her hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't be here," he whispered into her shoulder.

"You shush. We'll always be friends Bruce. No matter what, I'm here for you," she whispered back. "Now stop talking, close your eyes and go to sleep."


	7. A Brief History

**AN: So like I told my peeps over at AO3, this chapter is heavy on the comicbook canon, but also has quite a bit of my own headcanon in order to suit the Avengers movie and the timeline since the last Hulk movie. Second, and most important, the first part of this story slightly mixes the past, in the form of italics, with the sort-of present. I've edited and re-edited and read it so many times that it makes sense to ME, but maybe not to you. So if you can't follow it, please let me know and I'll edit this chapter so that the two parts are separate again. You'll see what I mean.**

xxXXxxXXxxXXxx

After Bruce sent Darcy a message telling her he had to talk to Betty, he spent twenty minutes trying to calm down. He wasn't anywhere near hulking out, but Bruce was pretty sure he might break out into hives.

Having to talk to Betty Ross about his feelings for another woman would have been unimaginable over a year ago. Before he met Darcy, Bruce had resigned himself to the idea that he would die alone.

xxxx

_When Robert Bruce Banner was a young boy, his father Brian murdered his mother Rebecca. In an ironic twist, Brian Banner broke his neck on her tombstone during an altercation with his adult son. Bruce repressed the memory of his father's death, but he always carried with him the pain of his childhood._

_Growing up, the only person Bruce was really close to after his mother's death was his cousin Jennifer Walters, and he used humor and his intelligence to keep everyone else at a distance. It wasn't until Bruce went away to university that he got close to another person, or as close as he could be. His first girlfriend broke up with him because she found him to be too distant. His second girlfriend, the one he lost his virginity to, didn't like his overly sarcastic nature. Needless to say, Bruce never sustained a relationship past a few months._

_When Dr. Bruce Banner met Dr. Betty Ross, he was working for her father. She had just received her doctorate and would be working on Bruce's team. Bruce admired Betty's intelligence and kindness, and he certainly appreciated her beauty. She also seemed to enjoy his sense of humor and had quite the cutting wit herself. _

_After their first lunch together in the lab, Bruce and Betty talked all the time. And for the first time, Bruce felt like he had found someone he could really communicate with, without feeling sad about his life. For as much confidence as Bruce had in his ability as a scientist, he felt just as awful about his past._

_The first time Bruce kissed Betty, it felt like electricity. Bruce had packed a dinner for a night time picnic. They were parked in a meadow when the car radio started playing 'Crash Into Me' and Betty pulled him up from the blanket. They danced and laughed under the stars in the glow of the car headlights, and in that moment, Bruce didn't just see a woman he greatly admired and liked, he saw someone he could spend the rest of his life with. He leaned forward and captured her lips with his... and it felt like electricity._

_Bruce was the happiest he could ever remember being. Betty filled in all the spaces inside him, and she smoothed away the rough edges. They would curl up together on the couch and watch old movies, and he would feed her popcorn and she would smile up at him whenever a funny or memorable scene came on. On lazy mornings, Bruce would wake Betty up with a kiss and slowly make love to her in the bright morning light that spilled into their bedroom window._

_The last time Bruce kissed Betty, as simply Bruce, it felt like home. He was minutes away from making a scientific breakthrough with gamma radiation, and while his lips slanted across hers, he thought of the ring hidden away in a drawer of his desk._

xxxx

After the 'Battle of Manhattan,' Bruce stayed on with Tony and began working in the lab space at the tower. He buried himself in new research and only came up for air when Tony wouldn't stop pestering him. Despite whatever breakthrough he had in the lab, his life was an endless stream of lab work, meditating, eating, sleeping and the occasional battle thrown in to break up the monotony.

Then somewhere out in the middle of nowhere New Mexico, Dr. Jane Foster built a machine that could generate an Einstein-Rosen Bridge. Suddenly, Thor was back on Earth and he, Dr. Foster and Darcy Lewis were on their way to New York to be debriefed by SHIELD. Tony Stark, being Tony Stark, scooped Dr. Foster up before SHIELD could convince her to work for them. Tony then moved her into the tower and she was predictably followed by Thor.

Somewhere between New Mexico, finishing her degree at Culver, being whisked away to Norway to 'help' Jane and New Mexico again, Darcy became friends with Clint Barton. They bonded over their mutual love of music and sarcasm. In a bid to gain more time with his boyfriend (and save Phil the stress of dealing with Tony Stark all the time), Clint suggested Phil hire her as his assistant when she came along with Jane and Thor to New York.

On Darcy's first day as Coulson's assistant, he tasked her with the duty of getting Tony to sign some paperwork. Having spent time listening to Clint complain about Tony stressing out Phil, and knowing Tony's appreciation of women, Darcy strolled into the lab wearing a lowcut top, skinny jeans and her worn-in converse shoes. That red top would forever be seared in Bruce's brain, as would the look on Tony's face when he was confronted by Darcy's considerable assets. She had smirked at the billionaire and informed him that if he didn't want her telling Pepper how he was eying her cleavage, then he would have to start signing the forms she and Coulson brought to him. Tony laughed at her attempt at blackmail, but from that day forward he and Darcy had an understanding.

That was also the day Dr. Bruce Banner felt the wall around his heart begin to break down again.

After that initial meeting, Darcy would periodically pop into the lab to have Tony, Bruce or Jane sign paperwork. She began bringing them all lunch when she noticed that they weren't eating properly (or sometimes at all). Then lunches in the lab became lunches out. Darcy would use her large eyes and a pout to get Bruce to agree to leave the safety of the tower, and she and Jane would pull him into conversation, as would Tony and Thor whenever the two would join them.

Bruce found himself enjoying Darcy's company more and more. He loved talking to her about pop culture, politics and anything else they could think of. Darcy even dragged Bruce with her on some of her excursions with Steve, and the two of them would attempt to teach Captain America about life in the present day.

In the back of his mind, Bruce knew he wanted Darcy, and he was pretty sure she might want him right back, but he was afraid any relationship with her would end up like the one he had with Betty.

After one seemingly endless battle with Dr. Doom and his robots, Bruce found himself exhausted but unable to sleep. When Darcy found him in the communal kitchen staring off into the distance, she brought him back to her room and helped him to relax and fall asleep. After that, Bruce worried less about what might happen, and simply enjoyed being around her. They made breakfast together the morning after the Dr. Doom incident, and it became their morning ritual.

Finally, after a year of secretly (not that secretly) pining after Darcy, Bruce decided he needed to be a man and ask her out. Or rather, Tony and Clint told him he needed to be a man and ask her out. So on a Sunday evening, after fighting some giant lizard men alongside his teammates and Spiderman, Bruce came back to the tower, sought Darcy out and asked her on a date for the following Friday.

The next afternoon, Bruce practically skipped to the lab as he mentally replayed the answering smile he got from Darcy the day before. He was so tired from the fight that he missed their breakfast ritual and lunch, but for the first time in almost five years, Bruce felt like his life might be heading toward more than just being the alter ego of the Other Guy.

xxxx

_As he shoved his assistant out of the chamber, the explosion of gamma radiation threw Bruce to the ground._

_When it all began, Bruce tried to hide the change from Betty. He had help in the form of his assistant and only other witness to the exposure, Rick Jones, but as Bruce struggled to come to grips with his new reality, Betty discovered his secret. While everyone, besides Rick, had seen a monster, Betty saw the man she loved and would always stand by in his search for a cure._

_The last time Bruce really kissed Betty was right before he became a ghost. It was a kiss that said goodbye, but it was also a promise. A promise that though Bruce was running away to keep her safe, Betty Ross would always have a piece of his heart._

xxxx

Darcy came into the lab and smiled shyly at Bruce as she handed Jane some files and a coffee. He grinned at Darcy as she made her way over to him with a tea and sandwich.

xxxx

_He found out she was getting married through an encrypted email from Rick._

xxxx

At the sound of the lab door opening Bruce looked away from Darcy and saw Pepper entering the lab.

xxxx

_Bruce was devastated by the news._

xxxx

He raised his hand to wave hello to the tall redhead when Betty Ross stepped from behind her.

xxXXxxXXxxXXxx

After twenty minutes of steadily breathing in and out, Bruce finally felt calm enough to talk with Betty. "Jarvis? Please ask Betty to come to the lab?"

"Of course sir."

Jane had already left for lunch and Bruce tried to look busy as he waited for Betty. When he heard the lab doors open, Bruce looked up and his breath caught in his throat. Betty was always a beautiful woman, but more often than not she was dressed for work in a lab. The Betty that walked into his lab was in a white wrap dress that hugged her figure and he was reminded viscerally of what she looked like naked.

Bruce quickly looked down at the lab table and wished he was back in India. _There_, all he had to worry about was not getting caught by the government, instead of having what Tony referred to as the 'best problem a man can have if that man happens to turn into a not so jolly green giant.'

"Hey Bruce, you wanted to see me?"

Betty stopped next to him, and out of the corner of his eye he saw her slender feet encased in tall black heels. "Yeah, um, I needed to talk to you."

"You're lucky then, I just came back from an early lunch with Pepper." She sat on a stool next to him and sighed in relief as she took off her heels and exchanged them for a pair of flats from her purse. "Pepper wants me to go with her to France next week and translate the science for her at a conference there." Bruce looked up at her with a questioning look and Betty smirked. "She probably could have had Tony go with her, but I'm pretty sure Pepper thinks he's going to propose and so she's avoiding him like the plague."

"_Really_?" Bruce looked incredulous.

"Hey I'm new around here, but I've seen them around each other and Tony has the look of a man about to pop the question." At Bruce's skeptical look, Betty laughed. "You know, _twitchy_ and super affectionate and constantly reaching for his pocket like he's checking on something... it's the same way you were before the accident."

Betty's smile faded and Bruce looked back down at the lab table. "Yeah, I guess I was pretty twitchy."

There was a moment of awkward silence then Betty cleared her throat. "So you wanted to talk to me?"

Bruce gripped the edge of the lab table and continued to stare at as if it held the answers to the universe, and considering it had print outs from his work with Tony, it probably did. Betty waited patiently for Bruce to find the words, and Bruce continued to stare down at the table.

When she reached out a hand and put it on top of one of his, he began to talk.

He told Betty all the stuff about his travels he hadn't told her before; How he _felt_ being away from her and the thought that he would never see her again. He told her about finding out she was getting married and how he cried in the tiny room he called home in the middle of Japan. He told her how he felt even more lost after that, so much so that he put a gun in his mouth but the Other Guy wouldn't let him die.

Bruce felt Betty squeeze his hand and he closed his eyes.

He told her how he worked in a bottling factory in China before he flew to India in disguise. He told her about helping the poor in India with his medical knowledge so he didn't have to think about his life. He described meeting Natasha in an out of the way shack of a house and being recruited to the Avengers. He told Betty that though he felt good about what he did during the battle, he couldn't sustain that feeling of purpose between missions and work in the lab.

Bruce took a deep breath and looked Betty in the eyes.

He told her about Darcy first walking into the lab and how he admired her spirit. He told Betty about the way Darcy forced him out of the lab and into the world; How she made sure there were multiple sets of clothes for him in the Quinjet so he could wear more than pants after a mission; How she helped him sleep when the fleeting images of being the Hulk left him exhausted but unable to close his eyes for fear of nightmares. He told the woman he once wanted to marry more than anything, how when he and Darcy made breakfast together, he would pretend _they_ were married and living in a house in the suburbs; How Darcy made him feel whole again for the first time since the accident; How she refused to let him be depressed about being the Hulk and would argue with him without fear of the Other Guy being let out.

Betty furrowed her brow and began to move her hand away, but Bruce grabbed onto it with his other hand.

He told her how over the past year of being friends with Darcy, he had fallen in love with her. How he hadn't even realized he loved her until she came into the lab on Monday and smiled at him. How as he smiled at her, he thought he was giving away the fact that he _did_ love her.

"Then you walked through those doors."

Bruce didn't realize that he had been talking for over an hour, but he felt the scratchiness in his throat as he looked into Betty's eyes. He also didn't notice, and neither did Betty, Jane entering the lab. "You walked in through those doors and I couldn't breathe. After a year and a half of being with the Avengers, I didn't even _consider_ the possibility of seeing you again. So when we talked and you told me about your husband... I didn't know what to think. And when you kissed me... it still felt like..." He took a shaky breath and let go of her hand. "Despite running away, despite finding out you got married, and despite finally... _finally_ feeling like I was moving on... I still love you."

Betty's eyes shone bright with unshed tears. She took a deep breath. "Bruce, I still love you too."

Bruce barked out a laugh and put his head on the lab table. He slowly breathed in and out, but the feeling of hives moving over his body wouldn't go away. "Why didn't you come right away," he asked, voice muffled.

Betty furrowed her brows. "What?"

"I'm sure you saw video of me... the Hulk... on tv. Everyone did. Your husband died two years before the invasion. So if you love me, _why_ didn't you come right away?" Bruce lifted his head and stared Betty in the eyes.

She sucked in a breath and blew it out slowly. "I had things I had to deal with. I didn't even think you would still-"

"Still _what_, Betty?" Bruce interrupted. His breathing was even and he felt calm, and for the first time in years he felt no anger, only hurt. "You didn't think I would still love you even though I gave you part of my heart?" He looked away from her then. "I can understand that you moved on. I really can. _Hell_, I have no right to even talk about how painful that was because _I_ left _you_." Bruce turned back to her. "But _why_, if you love me so much, did you wait another year or so to come here? Why, when you seemed to _clearly_ have moved on and when I _finally_ found someone to love who loves me back, did you come here?"

Bruce could see Jane, out of the corner of his eye, sneak out of the lab.

A tear began rolling down Betty's cheek and she quickly brushed it away. She covered her eyes with a hand and sucked in a deep shuddering breath. "I thought I _had_ moved on." She uncovered her eyes and looked down at her lap. "When you left, I felt like my heart had been ripped out; I felt dead. For three months I barely got out of bed. All I could really do was cry and sleep. My _father_ didn't care as long as you were gone, but Glenn... he came around and he helped me through it. He hated you, but he loved me, so he held me and took me out. Slowly he managed to bring me back to life."

Betty took another shuddering breath and looked up to the table, staring at the same print outs Bruce was staring intently at. "I didn't love him, but I liked him and he helped me through a bad time. You were gone and he was there and my father liked him. It was _easy_... we got married pretty quickly, just a civil ceremony, and I pretended it was what I wanted." Betty looked up at Bruce and when he finally looked back she went on. "He was looking for you, _hunting_ for you, in Japan when he was died. After that I just sort of immersed myself in work."

Betty shifted on her seat and leaned her arms on the table. "I _did_ see the Hulk on tv. I just didn't know what it meant or what I should do about it. When it became apparent after a few months that you were fighting alongside Iron Man and Captain America, I knew you had gained at least some of the control you wanted... and I wasn't there for that... and I believed that maybe my _not_ being there was the reason you had gained control."

Bruce frowned. "What do you mean?"

Betty sighed and leaned back. "I mean, that your presence didn't just put me in danger from people out to use the Hulk, but that _my_ presence never allowed you to gain enough control to not tear apart entire cities. From pretty much the first moment you transformed, you were fighting. And if they couldn't get you to fight, they used _me_ to get to you." Betty hunched forward into herself while Bruce continued to frown. "You couldn't get a handle on your situation and being with me wasn't helping. Sure I could calm the Hulk down enough not to kill me, but I couldn't even really _stop_ you from transforming in the first place... so I stayed away. But when I saw this position open, I didn't really think about all of that..."

Bruce planted his elbows on the lab table and leaned his head into his hands. He scrubbed at his face a few times and sighed heavily. "What do you _want_ from me Betty? I'll admit despite everything, I can't help it I still love you. But I also love Darcy. So what should I do here?"

Betty bit her lip and looked up toward the ceiling. "I don't _know_ Bruce. I know that I want to be with you. And honestly, the thought of you being with her instead of me hurts like hell." Betty looked down and into Bruce's eyes. "But I can't choose for you. I wished to god that I was strong enough to say I don't want it to have to be a choice, and to just walk away. _Hell_, I'm not even sure if I'm really a choice for you or just such a strong link to the past that seems like I am."

Bruce stood up suddenly and his chair tipped and fell. "I need to go."

Betty knew Bruce well, even if it had been years, so she just nodded as he ran out of the lab.

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Bruce didn't normally like leaving the tower even when he was _with_ someone who could keep the Other Guy in check, so he especially didn't like leaving when he was alone. But being around Betty wasn't an option anymore at that juncture in time, and he couldn't face Darcy just yet, or anyone else. So he wandered around the city until he felt numb and the sky became dark.

When he got back to the tower, Bruce went straight up to his room. It was still early, but he felt exhausted from his conversation with Betty and from his wandering the city. He tried to close his eyes and fall asleep, but he felt like his skin was too tight.

At that moment there was only one person he wanted to see, and selfish or not he wandered to her room. When there was no answer, and Jarvis informed him she was with Natasha, Bruce sat in front of the door and tried to block out the rest of the world.


	8. The Confrontation, Part 1

**AN: So I broke this chapter into two parts, because the stuff between Bruce and Darcy is heavy and whatnot and it would take way more days to post the whole chapter with all the insane editing I like to do. Not to mention it just flows better this way.I dedicate this chapter and the next to TheDreamerLady, who totally pestered me about seeing Darcy throwdown.**

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When she woke up Bruce was already gone.

Darcy lay in her bed and stared up at the ceiling. She didn't know what to think about Bruce coming to see her and she felt her chest tighten when she recalled how shaky Bruce was before he fell asleep. Darcy rolled out of bed and moved quickly to the bathroom. She stepped into the shower and leaned against the wall as warm water pounded her back and washed away the stress of the past week. Darcy felt her chest ache and her breath shorten before she gasped and salty tears began to roll down her cheeks. She gave into the ache and let the sobs come. When she could no longer feel the pain in her chest, she turned off the water and carefully dried herself off. Darcy slowly went through her wardrobe and got ready for her day.

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Darcy was surprised when she saw Jane waiting for her outside of her office. Jane didn't usually leave the lab unless it was for food or Thor... or if Darcy pouted that she needed girl time.

"Why haven't you been answering your phone?" Jane questioned her as Darcy moved around the petite woman to enter the code into the security panel next to her door.

Darcy rolled her eyes as she went through the door and around her desk. She turned on her computer, sat down and waited for it to warm up as she pulled out her phone. She scrolled through her missed calls and messages before turning back to her computer monitor. Jane waited patiently in front of Darcy's desk with her eyebrows raised expectantly and her arms crossed tightly over her chest, but Darcy refused to crack under the glare of her former boss.

"Darcy!"

"Jesus Jane! What do you want me to say?" Darcy snapped back.

Jane continued to glare for a few more moments before her expression softened. "What happened?"

If Darcy was a religious person, she would swear on a stack of bibles that Jane had a sixth sense about the drama that went down between her and Bruce sometimes. "He showed up at my door looking pretty bad and I held him until he fell asleep." Darcy would have lied, but Jane was her best friend. Also, Jane wouldn't hesitate to go get Natasha, and Darcy would _never_ lie to _her_... unless she wanted to be slowly tortured to death.

"Did he say anything about what happened?" Jane asked carefully, looking down at the floor.

Darcy sighed and rubbed her eyes. "No, and he was gone this morning before I woke up and he wasn't around for breakfast."

Jane shifted uneasily in her chair. "Yeah. He was probably still pretty upset after his drama with Betty."

"Oh really," Darcy said carefully, staring hard at her monitor. She knew she shouldn't ask. She knew it was up to Bruce to share. Hell, she was really trying to be adult about the whole situation... but fuck it. "So what happened between them?"

Jane stared at her a minute then quickly moved to the office door, closed and locked it. Darcy raised an eyebrow as the astrophysicist dragged a chair around the desk. When Jane was situated in the chair, she leaned forward and whispered, "so what do you want first, the good news or the bad news?"

Darcy leaned back and rolled her eyes. "Jane, my office is soundproof, so there's no need to whisper. Not to mention, even if you do whisper, Jarvis can still pick it up. Right Jarvis?"

"Indeed Miss Lewis." Jarvis responded promptly.

Jane sat back and eyed Darcy warily. "Fine. So you want me to just start from when I got there." At Darcy's nod, Jane blew out a breath. "So I get there and I immediately hear him tell her how he didn't expect to see her again and how he felt he finally moved on before she came back. He told her that he still-" Jane hesitated and bit her lip.

Darcy channeled Coulson and kept her face carefully blank. "It's okay Jane, I'm pretty sure I know what he told her already."

Jane hesitated a moment longer before continuing on. "He told her he still loved her." When Darcy didn't even flinch at that news, she continued on. "Then she told him she still loved him too. He sort of got upset about that and asked her why, if she loved him so much, did she wait to come here-" She hesitated again until Darcy gave her a raised brow. "He wanted to know why she came back when he finally found someone to love... who loves him back. And that's all I got before I left."

Darcy turned to stare at her monitor. '_Damn it Bruce_,' she thought to herself. "Thor help me now," she muttered out loud. "I sort of want to strangle that man."

Jane looked at her friend worriedly. "So _what_ if he still sort of loves her Darcy. She's his past and you're clearly his future."

Darcy turned back to her friend with her mouth open. She shook her head and quickly stood up and began pacing around her office. "Are you kidding me Jane? Seriously tell me you're _joking_." Darcy ran a hand distractedly through her hair. "So not only does he tell his ex that he still loves her, oh and _yay_ for that by the the way, but he gets upset because she didn't come around _sooner_! Like why didn't she come around before he got all invested in _me_! And you know the _best_ part of all this?! Apparently the first person who gets to hear that Bruce loves me is _Betty_! And apparently I don't even get to tell Bruce I love him either, because he told that little tidbit to _her_ on my behalf!"

Darcy continued to pace around the room. "I mean, I _finally_ get asked out by the man I've apparently totally fallen in love with, and Betty Ross strolls into town like nothing ever happened! I totally acted like a grown-up Jane and was nothing but nice to her, and what do I get?" Darcy stopped pacing and turned toward her friend. "Seriously Jane, this is why I only dated guys I knew were no good for me, because at least I knew not to expect much from them."

Jane sat quietly, giving her friend the space she knew Darcy needed. She watched warily from her seat as Darcy paced around the room muttering angrily to herself. Jane sighed and leaned back. "Oh that man is so screwed."

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After Jane left her office, Darcy continued to pace. "For the love of Thor! I can't even work," Darcy yelled out in frustration. She sat at her desk in agitation tapping her nails in an erractic beat on the arm of her chair. Darcy quickly stood up. "Fuck this," she muttered before leaving her office.

xxxx

As Darcy put several holes in the center mass of the paper target, she felt a little lighter. She actually had two SHIELD issued handguns, but as Clint often said, if you want to go with a gun and you're pissed nothing feels better than a rifle. Of course Darcy felt he had an unhealthy relationship with his weapons, especially the bow, so she wasn't sure about that particular advice... but it felt fucking fantastic shooting the rifle, so Darcy figured she'd trust Clint on this despite him owning a whole cache of bows and swords (he and the Warriors Three really bonded over his medieval-style weapons collection).

She could feel the presence of another person on the range, but she finished shooting the round in her rifle before she put the gun down and pulled off the noise-cancelling headphones.

"It seems your accuracy has improved greatly over the past year Agent Lewis."

Darcy turned around and smiled at her boss. "Well your boyfriend won't let me get away with slacking off."

Coulson smiled faintly before his face became passive again and he raised an eyebrow at her. "Shouldn't you be in your office working on paperwork?"

"Yeah well, let's just say I decided to take an early lunch before I ended up having a stress induced stroke." Darcy looked away and chewed on her bottom lip.

Coulson stared at her steadily until she looked back at him. "Well as much as I would like to discuss your relationship issues Lewis, I need you to go over some reports on a situation coming out of Hydra."

Darcy lifted her hands to her hips and furrowed her brow. "Is there a situation the Avengers need to be aware of sir?" Darcy had slipped into her agent persona and pushed her issues with Bruce to the back of her mind.

"Right now, there are just rumblings. Hydra has been pretty quiet the past few months, but about a week ago there was an uptick in chatter coming over the lines. There's no concrete evidence of a plan in action on their part, but we need to be ready."

"Yes, sir. I'll be right up." She squared her shoulders as Coulson walked away.

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Darcy sent her apologies to Jane about missing lunch and informed the other woman that she would be busy in her office all afternoon and probably into the evening.

Clint dropped by around sunset bringing Darcy Chinese take-out. She looked quizzically up at him from behind the glow of her computer monitor and he shrugged. "I always bring Phil dinner when he works late, so I thought I'd make sure you were going to eat as well." Darcy smiled widely at him and he grinned. "After all, I am your keeper."

She laughed and took the take-out bag from him. "Why have you never brought me dinner before," she asked as she began taking out cartons of food.

Clint smirked. "Well maybe if you worked late more often instead of watching movies with Steve, then I would have a chance to bring you dinner too." As Darcy chuckled, he leaned over and pressed a kiss to her temple before turning to leave. "Don't work too hard. I don't want you to have to go stress shooting at the range again, which we _will_ be discussing later by the way."

"Hey, you and Phil need to stop being a gossipy couple," she called after him as he went out the door. She rolled her eyes as she heard him laugh halfway down the hall.

xxxx

When Darcy glanced at the time on her phone, it was nine at night. She groaned and stretched her arms above her head. She resigned herself to the fact that she would have to come in extra early the next day and began to pack up her notes. A knock sounded on her door and she figured it was Clint coming back to check up on her again. "Come in," she called out.

As she continued to straighten up her desk, she heard the door open and looked up. Bruce was standing in her doorway looking nervous, and Darcy felt the anger she had managed to push away come back in full force.


End file.
